Go for Zucker! (Alles auf Zucker!) (2004)

55% of critics liked it
(40 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(792 ratings)

A man gets in touch with his spiritual side for a very material reason in this comedy from Germany. Jacob Zuckermann was a young man living in Eastern Germany when the Berlin Wall divided the nation in 1961. Jacob's mother escaped to West Berlin with her other son, Samuel, in tow, but Jacob was left… More A man gets in touch with his spiritual side for a very material reason in this comedy from Germany. Jacob Zuckermann was a young man living in Eastern Germany when the Berlin Wall divided the nation in 1961. Jacob's mother escaped to West Berlin with her other son, Samuel, in tow, but Jacob was left behind. Putting himself though school, Jacob became a lawyer, albeit one with a less than prestigious practice, and changed his name to Jaeckie Zucker. However, after Germany was reunified, Jaeckie's (Henry Huebchen) practice collapsed, and he began making a living hustling pool. Luck has not been kind to Jaeckie lately, and he owes 60,000 dollars to the bank. Jaeckie thinks he could win enough money to pay his debts in an upcoming high-stakes pool tournament, but he doesn't have the 5,000 dollars needed to enter. Bad news has a silver lining for Jaeckie when he gets word that his mother has passed on, and he and Samuel stand to inherit a fortune from her estate. However, there's a catch -- she has specified she must have an Orthodox Jewish funeral if her sons are to receive the money, and while Samuel (Udo Samel) is a strict follower of the faith, Jaeckie's religious education stopped not long after his mother left. Jaeckie and his conspicuously gentile wife, Marlene (Hannelore Elsner), head to West Berlin, where they have a less-than-joyous reunion with Samuel and attempt to help with the details of the funeral while giving themselves an overnight education in Judaism. Meanwhile, Jaeckie schemes to find a way to sit shivah and play in the pool tournament at the same time. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Dani Levy
Written By: Dani Levy, Holger Franke
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 20, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Sep 19, 2006
Studio: First Run Features

Critic Reviews

Cynthia Dickison, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Zany Zucker proves that 'German comedy' is no oxymoron, and that the country can at last find humor in its cultural and religious divide.
Derek Elley, Variety
A character-driven entertainment that stays just the right side of purely physical farce.
Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
A diverting, mildly entertaining movie, far short of provoking the controversy (or hysterical laughter) it apparently prompted during its release in Germany.
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
Go for Zucker! has one comic trope our capitalist society can definitely understand: the restorative power of a cash bonanza.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Although Go for Zucker begins with the title character running, the movie just isn't up to speed.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
The jokes aren't always funny, but that they come at all out of contemporary Germany gives this obstreperous social comedy -- a huge hit back home -- a modern punch.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
Goebbels would have found the depiction of Jews in Go For Zucker promising.
Kam Williams, Mount Desert Islander
An irreverent, frequently funny clash of cultures which mostly explores the lighter side of what it means to be Jewish.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
An irreverent, frequently funny clash of cultures which mostly explores the lighter side of what it means to be Jewish.
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
The cast is funny and the script is sharply written.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
Watching through American eyes, none of it seems all that funny, or interesting, or entertaining.
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A brash, energetic, cheerfully slovenly comedy with broadly drawn characters and big performances...
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
A fine farce about discovering the meaning of 'family' under peculiar circumstances.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Because it's from Germany and we're not onto the tricks of the lead actors, the way this familiar tale plays out is a lot of fun.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
The most appealing aspect is that it is not politically correct, stirring comedy out of the clash within a culture, as distinct from films that use clashes of cultures for their comedy.
Marrit Ingman, Austin Chronicle
As a comedy, Zucker is pleasant and spry but not truly exceptional.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
too weighted with overdressing and fat to travel all that well.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A broad, lowbrow affair, worthy of an American Ben Stiller comedy.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Levy exploits the living situation for countless oil-and-water gags, many of which are so corny and played-out that they feel as though they should be accompanied by the cheers of a live studio audience.